Paris Saint-Germain returns to UEFA Champions League action with a very intriguing matchup against Manchester United.
The Premier League side visits the Parc des Princes for the first time since they embarrassed PSG in the 2018-19 Champions League Round of 16 by winning 3-1 with a makeshift squad to advance to the quarter-finals.
Revenge will definitely be on the mind of Les Parisiens but they will be without several key players. Juan Bernat, Mauro Icardi, Thilo Kehrer, Leandro Paredes, and Marco Verratti are all out due to various injuries.
Thankfully, since his time at the helm as sporting director, Leonardo has added quality depth to the squad for this very reason. Just moments ago, PSG revealed their starting lineup to take on Manchester United and despite the absences, it’s a very strong XI.
Le 1⃣1⃣ de départ ! #PSGMU
🔴 𝗜𝗖𝗜 𝗖'𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦 🔵 pic.twitter.com/mmyiZD9ytZ
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) October 20, 2020
Keylor Navas starts in goal with Layvin Kurzawa, Presnel Kimpembe, Abdou Diallo, and Alessandro Florenzi. Abdou Diallo steps in for the recently injured Marquinhos who is on the bench but clearly isn’t able to play the full 90. Keep your eye on Florenzi, who is making his first Champions League appearance in a PSG kit. He has looked solid since arriving from AS Roma on loan and it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his form against a Premier League team.
The midfield is where PSG could experience some issues. Ander Herrera and Idrissa Gueye will play in front of Danilo Pereira who is also making his first Champions League appearance with PSG. Ideally, you would like to have Verratti and maybe even Marquinhos with Pereira but this is an opportunity for Gueye and Herrera to step up in their absence.
The front three is about as good as it gets in world football. Kylian Mbappé will lead the attack with Neymar Jr. on the left-wing and Angel Di Maria on the right. I don’t expect much service from the midfield, so it will be up to Neymar and Di Maria to pick up the burden of creating goal-scoring opportunities with Kurzawa and Florenzi coming up from defense to provide some service as well.
Along with Marquinhos on the bench, he’s joined by Pablo Sarabia, Julian Draxler, Colin Dagba, Mitchel Bakker, Moise Kean, Alexandre Letellier, Timothée Pembele, Rafinha, Sergio Rico, and Kays Ruiz.
Manchester United’s starting lineup looks like this:
🚨 Your #MUFC team news is locked in! 🔒
Here's our starting XI for matchday 1️⃣ of the 2020/21 #UCL 📋
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 20, 2020
What do you think of the two lineups? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, @PSGTalk.
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